Negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, Presidents of Russia and the USA, at G20 Summit in Hamburg may have a positive impact on the ongoing processes in the Middle East and the South Caucasus.

However, the experts do not rush making conclusions on Putin's and Trump's positive attitude towards the meeting that the relations between the two superpowers will get out of the crisis.

“If the sanctions imposed by the USA against Russia will not be eased or lifted, what improvement of relations can be talked about?”Areg Galstyan, PhD, Columnist at Forbes, The National Interest and The American Thinker, said. Although the USA is a presidential state, Donald Trump's hands are bound and he cannot lift sanctions imposed on Russia without the Congress's approval.

Media Center hosted a discussion entitled “Putin-Trump Meeting at G20 Summit: Regional Expectations and Possible Developments” on July 10, the speakers of which were Areg Galstyan and Suren Sargsyan, Researcher and Political scientist at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Donald Trump considered the meeting with the Russian President in Hamburg to be “robust” and said they agreed with Putin about the implementation of a ceasefire in Syria which will save numerous lives. “Now it is time to move forward in working constructively with Russia!” US President wrote.

Putin has stated that his replies to Trump's questions about interfering in the US elections were accepted on the American side. He expressed a hope that now there was a chance to normalize relations between the two countries.

According to Galstyan, Russia and the United States are different countries with different political systems and decision-making mechanisms. “In the case of Russia, the positive attitude of the President toward a state implies the positive attitude of the Russian Federation, it is not the case in the US. There is a more difficult decision-making mechanism there, and the President's positive attitude can still not imply the attitude of the state,” he said, adding that there are still no great expectations from the results of the Putin-Tramp meeting as in order to lift the sanctions against Russia, Trump has to go against not only the Democrats in the Congress but also the Republicans.

“Therefore, major changes should be made in the domestic policy of the United States that will lead to a change in the attitude of the state towards Russia, i.e. positive developments in the relations between the two states,” Galstyan said.

According to him, in the regional context some positive changes in the US-Russia relations create a positive backdrop for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Russia and the United States are the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, so the normalization of relations between these states is important for the NK conflict. However, it should be noted that now Armenia, using state-owned pipelines and Armenian lobbying structures, should try to incorporate its interests into the US foreign policy agenda and activate cooperation with the United States,” Galstyan said.

The expert wonders why Yerevan overlooked the signals coming from the US over the past 10 years. “These are the termination of the finances provided by the “Millennium Challenge Corporation” and the Lincy Foundation, and so on. It is necessary to work with this direction, as it is conditioned by energy resources, the United States makes a bigger bet on Azerbaijan,” he said, adding that Washington considers Baku to be a more independent player in the region, as Armenia is a part of the Eurasian Economic Union and is perceived in the context of the Euroasian integration and policy.

Agreeing with the opinion of the speaker, Suren Sargsyan emphasizes that he does not see the serious efforts made by Armenia and the Armenian lobby structures for the activation of the Armenia-US relations.

On the other hand, the expert notes that although the US plays an important role in the NK conflict zone and does not officially sell weapons to the conflict sides, it is being implemented through Israel. “The United States cannot provide weapons to Azerbaijan directly, as there is a Resolution 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which prohibits military assistance to the parties to the conflict. However, US-made weapons appear in Azerbaijan through Israel. The United States is pushing these technologies to Israel, and they carry out big weapon deals with Azerbaijan,” Sargsyan said.

“In addition, the United States is also providing military assistance to Azerbaijan every year, by sending a letter to the Congress from the President passing by Resolution 907. This assistance is not in the form of weapons but Azerbaijani officers receive military education in the US educational institutions. This is conditioned by the fact that they will not apply these skills in the conflict zone. However, it should be noted here that during the military clashes in April last year, Armenian forces destroyed two Azerbaijani special detachment soldiers, who received a military training in the US," Sargsyan recalled.

According to him, the above-mentioned is enough that Armenian lobbying organizations in the US make a great effort to restore the former role and significance of Resolution 907. “Great efforts should be made for this and for activating the Armenian-American relations,” he concluded.

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